Getting soft serve ice cream in New York City just got a whole lot easier — and cooler, might we add.
In collaboration with artist Curtis Kulig and Mike’s Hot Honey, Bar Moxy at the Moxy NYC Times Square hotel has added a soft serve vending machine. That’s a vending machine serving ice cream (of the soft variety).
Dubbed the “Love Machine,” it’s marked with Kulig’s signature “Love Me” logo and dispenses two flavors: dairy-free dark chocolate and Hot Honey vanilla. You can also get ice cream swirl (if you can’t decide between rich and sweet with a kick) and an assortment of toppings for 50 cents each — from Greek yogurt chips and rainbow sprinkles to cookie crumble and honeycomb bits.
The soft serve ice cream costs $3 to $7, and customers can pay with cash, credit card or Apple Pay using a touchscreen video display. The whole process — picking your flavor, paying and retrieving your dessert — takes less than a minute.
Stationed at the Bar Moxy entrance, Love Machine is open to the public 24 hours a day, and you don’t need to be staying at the hotel to use it.
According to The New York Times, you also don’t need to buy something at the bar to purchase soft serve ice cream from Love Machine.
The machine itself is sold by Stoelting Foodservice, and it’s referred to as the first of its kind in America (though others have developed similar inventions). Stoelting Foodservice reportedly has these machines in 40 locations around the world so far, according to Forbes.
Watch the Love Machine in action below:
“There is so much hype around being the next big ‘thing’ in ice cream and we knew that the first soft-serve vending machine in America would certainly create buzz,” Bar Moxy’s executive chef Jason Hall told Forbes.
“Curtis Kulig offered an instantly recognizable piece of art that our guests were drawn to,” Hall continued, “and the signature Mike’s Hot Honey flavor offered a unique take on the average soft serve.“
Hot Honey vanilla is made with chile-infused honey. “It’s just the right kick and NOT overpowering at all,” Instagram user @sydelleats wrote.
Chef Hall tells Metro via email, “What’s unique about this machine is that the flavors are customizable. We made the flavors with fall/winter in mind.”
Dark chocolate and Hot Honey, he says, go well for the upcoming season “as they are warmer flavors [and] we look forward to evolving with the seasons.”
He also tells us that the soft serve ice cream vending machine is a permanent installation at Bar Moxy (they own it) — so that means Love Machine isn’t going anywhere.
What’s better than having soft serve all year round? Absolutely nothing.
Bar Moxy is located at Moxy Times Square, 485 7th Ave, second floor.
